Unrequited Hate
by flor-desu
Summary: After the Raggs War Teito is taken as a slave. With no memory of who he is and only a nightmare to remind him of his past life, what will happen once he is bought by Ayanami the man who singlehandedly massacred his whole family and he swore revenge upon?
1. Chapter 1

**UNREQUITED HATE**

**Chapter 1**

_The young boy was powerless as he watched the intimidating man strike down a woman with his sword. He felt the heat of flames engulfing his home and saw the motionless corpses of many people lying on the floor. His body was paralyzed in terror._

_The unknown man lifted his blood stained blade and slowly wiped it clean with his white gloves immediately removing them from his hands and throwing them at him. The boy glowered menacingly at him. _

_**DO YOU HATE ME?**__ He asked calmly __**IF YOU DO, THEN COME AND TAKE YOUR REVENGE**__._

_He screamed furiously and charged at the man but before he knew it, the hilt of his sword had connected with his ribcage and sent him flying against a wall. He stared down at the boy with flaming lavender eyes and a sardonic sneer._

_After that the world faded into darkness. _

_**I SHALL BE WAITING…**_

…_**TEITO KLEIN**_

_**

* * *

**_

He shot up from bed panting and sweating heavily. Lately that nightmare was becoming much more frequent and increasingly real, almost as if it were not even a dream anymore.

"GET UP NOW!" a man came barging into the minuscule cubicle that was his cell "I SAID NOW NUMBER TWELVE!" the robust man grabbed Number Twelve by the hair and jerked him up. "Didn't you hear what I said, eh, Slave?"

"M- My apologies Carl-sama" The young boy shivered under the slave trader's hand.

"Good." He threw him against the wall "We have a very important guest today, Number Twelve. If you wanna get outta this dump ya better behave."

Number Twelve quickly stood up and rubbed the back of his head. He maneuvered expertly the shackles on his wrists and ankles to stand up. He was so used to them by now that it almost seemed as if he had worn them for his whole life, although for all he knew, that might actually be the case. As far as he could recall he had always lived chained and trapped in this place. Number Twelve was what they had always called him.

_Things_ don't need names; Carl had said; only _people_ have those. Number Twelve could not argue with that, he was a _thing_ after all, a slave.

As soon as he stepped out of the cell, Carl adjusted a collar around his neck and dragged him down the eerie corridors. They walked past many cells some of which were currently unused; Number Twelve figured the slaves who used to be there had been sold, killed or simply thrown away after being rendered useless. He wondered which fate awaited him behind the huge iron doors just ahead.

He had never been out in the open before, at least not that he could remember, and a part of him was somewhat afraid of the outside world. He felt unprotected and vulnerable when he was forced to leave the safety of his cell; plus, the outside was a completely unknown world to him. And so it was that when the heavy gate slowly parted and sunlight filtered into the dark torch lit building, Number Twelve had to cover his eyes, but even then it was not enough.

He pressed his hands harder against his face and rubbed his eyes frantically. It was far too bright; he thought was going to go blind. Suddenly he felt a strong tug at his neck. He could not regain his balance in time and he stumbled onto the ground.

"C'mon boy, get up before I lose my patience!" Carl shouted at him "And stop scratching your face! Chief Ayanami's looking for a slave not a rat!"

He did as his master commanded and strived to keep his eyes open as much as he could and endured the pain. His vision was blurred and it was almost impossible to make out any shape or object, all he could see were a million different bright colors burning his eyes.

They came to a halt and Number Twelve finally managed to focus his sight slightly and address the situation at hand. Standing in line next to him were some of the other slaves that he usually trained with and in front of him there was Carl flattering some man, who seemed to be uninterested in his words, surrounded by a small group of people in matching dark uniforms.

Number Twelve was taken aback the moment the man's eyes fell upon him and refused to look away. Not being yet used to the brightness of the sun, he could not really tell what kind of face he was making, or even if he really was directly staring at him. Still, he did not dare stare back; slaves were not allowed to face people.

"You" the man spoke, his voice strong and commanding "Tell me your name"

"Ah, I see you have a very keen eye sire." Carl interjected "This here" he said pointing at Number Twelve "is one of the last survivors of Rags War."

Disregarding the slave trader, the tall man slowly started approaching said slave. Some of the people that were accompanying him watched him suspiciously.

"I gave you an order" he said stopping in front of the young slave.

"M- My name sire?" he asked uncertainly.

"Yes, your name. What is it?" the man asked impassively. For some reason the man's voice filled Number Twelve with an overwhelming fear.

"I do not have one my lord. I am but a slave. _Things _do not require names" he repeated his master's words as he had been taught to.

"I see." The man turned to address Carl "Trader, what is this slave's name?"

"He doesn't have one. Y'see when we found 'im he was lost and didn't remember his own name, sire."

"How do you know he is a survivor from Rags then?"

"We found 'im wandering 'round the Rags palace. 'E seemed to be lost so we took 'im in." Carl explained.

"Hmm…" the man faced Number Twelve once again. "Rags palace?" his lips twisted into a malicious smirk "Look at me boy, show me your face" he ordered.

He looked at his master to see if he should follow the order he was given. Carl, his current master, nodded, so he complied reluctantly. As a slave he did not really have a choice but to obey, even if following orders meant breaking the rules and getting killed for it. If those were the master's wishes he was in no position to doubt them.

Ayanami watched with interest as the fearful boy raised his head slowly. He took notice of his eyes, devoid of all desire to keep on living. It almost seemed that, had it not been for Carl taking him in as a slave, he probably would have died years ago. Such a pathetic cowardly existence was of no use to him, or so he thought.

Number Twelve could not really explain what took over him the moment he saw the man's lavender eyes leering at him. He felt as if he had been possessed as an unfamiliar rage burnt inside him. His whole body tensed and an overwhelming bloodlust crept from the pit of his stomach. It was _HIM_, the man from his nightmare, and he was standing right in front of him.

He could not concentrate on anything besides the need to kill that man and smile at his dead body lying on a pool of his spilled blood. He did not care about the consequences, even if it meant dying himself he had to destroy that monster.

Ayanami could not help but grin wickedly at the look in the boy's eyes. Those blood lusting eyes filled with hatred, they amused him immensely.

"Do you hate me?" he asked the boy, and what happened next amused him even more.

_**DO YOU HATE ME?**_ The words echoed in Number Twelve's head as images from his nightmare kept flashing through his mind.

_**IF YOU DO, THEN COME AND TAKE YOUR REVENGE. **_Number Twelve lunged at Ayanami and tackled him to the ground, gripping his neck with both hands.

Carl made it to grab the chain around the slave's neck but was abruptly stopped by one of Ayanami's men. "Leave it" he said smiling pleasantly at Carl "He's not chief just for show…"

_**I SHALL BE WAITING.**_Number Twelve's grip tightened as he allowed his body to be completely taken over by wrath. "_Te- i- to" _he muttered lowly between gritted teeth making Ayanami's sadistic grin even wider.

"TEITO KLEIN!" he screamed in fury as he raised a fist and connected a punch on the man's jaw "MY NAME IS TEITO KLEIN YOU BASTARD!" he shouted as he raised it again to land another punch that never hit.

In a swift motion Ayanami pushed Teito's hand away, quickly grabbing for his weapon with his free hand. With a single fluid movement he unsheathed his sword and hit the boy with the hilt, throwing him off balance and onto the floor. In a second he was looming over the slave with his blade pressed threateningly over his neck.

A low malicious chuckle escaped the chief's lips as he watched the boney figure struggling under his weight despite all common sense. This would certainly make things far more entertaining. What better way to add a little excitement to work than keeping close to you someone constantly attempting to take your life?

"Well, seems like Aya-tan found himself a toy to play with…" Ayanami's subordinate commented comically releasing a very nervous and sweaty Carl.

"A- Ayanami-sama! My deepest apologies! I will see that this slave gets what's coming to him! You need not worry I shall-."

"We'll take him." Ayanami replied unmoved, rising from the ground and brining the boy with him.

Teito kicked and cursed desperately trying to break free from the man's grasp to no avail. It only served to annoy him further leaving him no choice but to knock him out with a strong blow to the stomach. As the world faded into darkness Teito wondered if being bought by Ayanami was a blessing or a curse. From now on his chances to murder Ayanami would only increase, but he would probably be killed before he could succeed.

"And not a word to anyone about what happened here today." Ayanami added glaring at Carl and his remaining slaves.

* * *

**A/N:** So, this is my first fan fiction on the 07-Ghost fandom. I hope you like this introduction, it's been gathering dust (I know it's not possible) in my computer for a while, I didn't know whether I should upload it or not, but there you go.

Hope you liked it. If you have any comments on it, criticisms or whatever, your feedback is highly appreciated.

_**To be continued…**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Teito awoke feeling extremely contradictory. For one thing, he felt inexplicably comfortable, like lying on a cloud he imagined. He wondered vaguely if maybe he had already been killed and was in fact literally lying on a cloud but dismissed the thought immediately as a headache finally kicked in. His head felt heavy and almost too small for his brain, the painful throbbing kept distracting him from the unbelievable feeling of lying on an actual bed.

His stomach twisted and turned in knots; if he had ever ridden on a ship before Teito would have been able to describe the feeling as motion sickness, but as it was he could only cross his arms over his belly, roll up into a miserable ball of suffering and wish the pain away, which was not exactly helpful.

It was only some time later that the guard sleeping outside of his cell noticed the pitiful groans coming from behind him and decided to check what was going on, but some time later was entirely too late.

Teito suddenly sat up, his face completely pale and his teary eyes wide open. One of his hands immediately flew to cover his mouth as he started shaking and heaving. The guard who had been ordered to look after him started panicking and quickly ran out into the halls screaming for a doctor.

The cell door was unlocked and the guard looked through the bars contemplating whether it would be wiser to go in or wait for help. His orders had been very specific, make sure he does not kill himself, but this did not count as suicide by any means; for all he knew this was just the prisoner's attempt at breaking out. In any event it was not his duty to help him in case of sickness, what if it was contagious?

Teito stared back from his place on the ragged bed with an expression that would have been menacing if, say, they were on the battlefield and the boy were not heaving and groaning in pain as if he were dying. At this moment in time however it only served to further convince the guard not to step into the cell, in case he was some sort of dangerous rabid biting slave.

As a slave, Teito had been taught never to ask for anything, especially not for help, no matter how dire the situation. If you think you are about to drop dead, Carl had told him, make sure to dig a hole and throw yourself in before you do, saves us the trouble.

More often than not Teito had considered digging a hole and jumping in out of his own will, dying or not, but then his Master's interests got in the way and he refrained from doing it. But right now he could not allow himself that kind of thought, if he was to dig a grave for anyone it would be Ayanami's, not his own, not for now.

A doctor finally arrived looking extremely annoyed and possibly just out of bed in the guard's opinion. He glanced at Teito for a second and then glared at the guard.

"You imbecile woke me up just because a slave has an indigestion?" he said in an irritated tone.

"N- No sir, I mean, yessir. Chief Ayanami himself ordered me to look after 'im so I thought he was an important… _slave_, sir." The guard replied wiggling his eyebrows and smiling deviously.

"Chief Ayanami himself?" the doctor asked incredulously "What could be so important about a slave? And wipe that idiotic grin off your face boy; Chief Ayanami could have your head for that kind of insolent behavior." He added smacking him on the head with a clipboard he was holding.

"Yessir, I apologize, sir." The guard said rubbing his head.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Get him to the infirmary this instant. We don't want to anger the Chief any further eh?"

The guard walked up to Teito carefully and lifted him up easily over one shoulder. He was surprised at how light the boy was compared to what he appeared to be in the rags he wore. Wherever he had been living he had not been eating very well. That much was he was certain of.

Half way through to the infirmary, Teito regained part of his strength and started squirming, however unhelpful that was. The guard simply shook him brusquely in response which was far more unhelpful considering Teito's condition.

The sudden movement made him belch and consequently empty the contents of his stomach all over the guard's uniform. Not very pleased with the outcome of things, the guard dropped the boy on the floor and commenced a series of insults, some of which Teito had never heard before, even from Carl.

Feeling better after getting it out of his system, the young boy stood up meekly using every second to address the situation at hand. Fighting his way out was not an option, he had no weapon and there were probably hundreds of guards around. Running away would have been plausible if only he knew exactly where he was supposed to be going.

His only chance at getting away, slim as it may have been, was somehow knocking out the guard and finding a good hiding spot until he could come up with a better plan. The shackles on his arms and legs were not a handicap as much as they were a useful tool. It is immensely easier to knock someone out when you cut their air supply with a chain whilst they are too busy trying to clean vomit off of their clothes.

Luckily for Teito the doctor had already disappeared from sight and would only be back in a while to check why the guard was not following, which gave him the perfect chance to sneak around and hide.

He ran down the hall and entered the first door he saw without thinking, which was not an entirely good idea considering he was a slave on the run at the moment, but common sense would have to hold until he found a safe place.

"Tsk tsk tsk… this isn't good." Teito heard a voice coming from behind him and instantly froze when he felt the tip of a sword on his back. "We seem to be having a bit of problem with mice, and what a sneaky little one I've found. Aya-tan will not be pleased with this…" the man commented bemusedly.

He walked around the young slave keeping his sword pointed at him ready to strike at any moment if he decided to pull some other stunt to escape.

"Come then" he said moving his sword away and quickly stabbing the wooden door right next to Teito's head "And don't try anything stupid" Teito simply gulped and nodded stiffly in response. The man grinned happily at him, almost too happy, and started walking off. Teito followed suit.

After some time and many failed attempts to strike a conversation, the man gave up and they walked in silence until they reached a huge iron door. Teito started feeling slightly like the time he was brought out to the outside to be sold off. The door started opening and he instinctively covered his eyes but no bright light came through.

"Aya-tan~" the man escorting Teito called before stepping into the room "There's someone here who can't wait see you." he sang happily.

"I hope it's important this time, Hyuuga." Came the response from somewhere in the dark room.

"Aw don't be like that, I brought you a little friend" Hyuuga said tugging Teito's chains and pulling him in front of the open door "He was sneaking all around the ship trying to find you."

A light was suddenly lit and Teito could see Ayanami sitting on a chair smirking down at him. He made a gesture to his subordinate to enter. Hyuuga walked quickly into the room dragging Teito along.

"That will be all Hyuuga." Ayanami said waving a dismissive hand in the air.

"Oh?" the man looked at him amusedly "I see then. I'll leave you two alone." He chuckled softly "Go easy on him Aya-tan." He called over his shoulder before exiting the room and closing the door behind him.

Teito stiffed at the sound of a key turning and could not help to look back at the now sealed escape route.

"Did you really think I would let you escape?" Ayanami asked rising from his seat. "You are mine now"

Teito slowly stepped back as the man took a step towards him. Go easy on him, Hyuuga had said, and the guard had also said something that had unsettled him; something about him being an _important slave_. His mouth suddenly went completely dry and he gulped trying to swallow the lump that had formed somewhere in his throat.

Ayanami kept walking closer and Teito was running out of room to create space between them. If this continued any longer he would be cornered against a wall which was not the best position to be in.

The young slave quickly glanced behind to see how close the wall he was about to hit was. He was not pleased as he found himself mere inches away from it. He could have sworn he had another step or two. But alas his reverie was cut short the moment he looked forward only to find Ayanami's tall figure looming over him. Teito stifled a gasp and instinctively pressed his back against the cold metal. He tried to convince himself that the chill spreading through his body was because of it.

"Are you afraid?" Ayanami asked in a deep intimidating voice.

Teito found himself unable to look up and meet the man's eyes but mustered the courage to shake his head. His breath was starting to become shallower and the speed of his heartbeat was unsettling him if only because he thought it was so loud Ayanami could probably hear it and relish in the terror he was inflicting on the boy.

Teito kept his palms firmly pressed against the wall hoping that whatever was going to happen would be over soon. Each second that went by was another second he had to imagine what terrible fate awaited him, and this only served to make him more and more uneasy.

It took a while for him to realize that nothing was really happening. Ayanami was simply standing there, not doing anything. Only then did it strike him that he had actually been waiting for the uniformed man to move for a while now, but he was not. Was he expecting Teito to do something? Was he supposed to attempt to escape? Was this some sort of sick game to the man?

The silence that had set on the room made the young slave increasingly uncomfortable. He wondered whether he was being stared at or Ayanami had simply lost interest; and so he did something he later grew to regret. He looked up.

As expected, Ayanami was staring at him. Teito flinched the moment their eyes met. He was intimidated by him and that he could not hide. The older man did not seem to find this amusing at all, if anything he appeared to be annoyed by his cowardly actions. Teito made a note of this. It had been the same back at the slave market.

"_Weak_" he heard the man mutter as he backed away "That's why people like you get exterminated."

People he had said, weak people. And without knowing, Ayanami had given Teito the first ever advice he would put to use.

"_Weak people_" Teito repeated in a low voice "_get exterminated…"_ a smile crept upon his face, a sneer containing a vengeance long overdue. It was so simple, he only needed to become stronger and the he would be able to kill the silver-haired monster.

Ayanami looked back at the boy with mild interest. His green eyes were burning with the fire of a life-long hatred. "That's right." He said as his hand found its way to the hilt of the sword and he slowly unsheathed it.

Teito covered his eyes with his hands when Ayanami charged at him with the sword held in front of him.

**A/N** Hello again dear readers of this story, I apologize for making you wait this long. Many probably thought I had already dropped this, but alas I'm here to prove those people wrong. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.

Feel free to contact me with anger filled PMs if I take too long to update again, although praise filled messages are always better. Incentive is always nice and feedback of course is greatly appreciated.

_**To be continued…**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Teito did not fear pain, neither did he fear death. It was not a mere sword that terrified him, for it was not the first time he had felt the cold steel of a blade tearing through his skin. What petrified him was the image of his nightmare come to life.

He could feel the heat of the flaming building around him. He could hear the shrill cries of women and children alike and perhaps even his own mixed with them. He could see a sea of black and gold clad soldiers storming in led by a single man; a single man whose sole gaze petrified him in place rendering him unable to do anything but watch as the man stroke down a woman who had tried to protect him. You must live, she had said before she pushed him behind her. Live…

Teito did not flinch as the blade struck his flesh. He did not double over or scream in pain for even if his body was there, his mind was not. Ayanami was surprised at the boy's lack of reaction. Even if he had purposefully missed any vital points, he knew of no human who did not move a muscle after being stabbed by a sword.

Ayanami stared at him in amusement. He drew his weapon back and carefully wiped the blood off it with his white gloves. Slowly he removed the dirtied items from his hands and threw them at Teito watching for any type of movement. It was only as he put the sword back in its sheath and took a step back that the young slave snapped out of his trance.

His arms that had fallen limply at his sides shakily started rising. His fingers twitched as his hands found their way to cover his ears. His eyes shot open and a loud scream escaped his mouth. His body slouched forward until he finally fell to his knees screaming and panting.

Ayanami observed the pathetic display unimpressed. Not a moment later he heard the sound of the door being unlocked and watched as Hyuuga walked up to the boy, he was aware that he had been standing by all along. He snorted at his subordinate and sat down on his armchair.

"He'll live." Ayanami said coldly.

Hyuuga said nothing as he beckoned two guards into the room. They took Teito away kicking and screaming.

"Do you think it's the real thing this time?" Hyuuga asked with genuine interest.

"No."

"Why the sudden certainty?"

"I wouldn't have been able to get close enough to stab him if he were."

"What do you mean?"

"It would have protected him…"

"Maybe he forgot how to use it" said Hyuuga.

"I did not say he would use it, I said _it_ would protect him." Ayanami repeated.

"Hmm, you think maybe he lost it?"

"No. I think he is not the one."

"Oh? Didn't you say that since he remembered that name -?"

"Hyuuga" Ayanami interrupted abruptly "I believe you know better than to double guess me."

The subordinate eyed his commanding officer suspiciously. Whatever had happened behind those closed doors to suddenly make Ayanami want to cover for the slave? If he really was not the one they were looking for, why had he hesitated to kill him?

There was something more to this, Hyuuga knew, but for now he would let it go. No good would come from pressing the matter any further right now and besides, he was a patient man. He could wait. But of one thing he was sure, for even if Ayanami denied it, his odd behavior served to convince him otherwise. There was no doubt about it in his mind, that slave was the one they had been looking for and Ayanami knew it. The reason why he deemed it necessary to hide it however was beyond him, but he would play along for now.

"You're right Aya-tan" he said with a polite smile and a nod "my apologies."

"Dismissed" was Ayanami's reply and with that Hyuuga took his leave.

The Eye of Mikhail, the mark of the heir to the Raggs Kingdom, a weapon more powerful than any other… finally at arm's reach. With it his chance to seize the Barsburg Empire was inescapably his. So long had it been escaping him…

All those years waiting for it to appear before him; the trouble he had gone through to keep that kid away from the Empire's reach. To find him caught as a slave of all things, not even one step closer to coming after him. It did not matter anymore though, he was here now. He had finally found him again and this time no one would suspect a thing.

At the time of the war with Raggs Ayanami had had to settle for hiding him amongst the ruins report him dead and the Eye destroyed. Had he brought either the Eye or the boy with him he would have been suspected and, of course, the Eye taken away. His safest bet had been to keep the jade eyed prince alive and leave him with a message to make sure he would come back to him of his own will. _**COME AND TAKE YOUR REVENGE**_ he had told him. _**TEITO KLEIN**_, the name he had left him with was but a precaution, a ways of branding him to prove beyond a shadow of doubt that he was in fact the one he was looking for.

None of it mattered now though because now he had him. The Eye of Mikhail, Barsburg Empire, the whole world on the palm of his hand, all of it for the convenient price of fifty million yuus. A wicked grin spread upon Ayanami's lips, just a little more and it would all be his.

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**A/N:** I want to take this moment to say that, in case it isn't clear by this point, this is an AU story so Ayanami won't be being Verloren in this one… just saying.

I hope you liked it and I will endeavor to update more regularly from now on. As always your feedback is greatly appreciated.

_**To be continued…**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter**** 4**

Silver moonlight filtered through the windows into the gloomy corridors as Hyuuga strode along towards the infirmary. His curiosity, not having yet been satisfied, guided him to the young slave lying restlessly on a filthy hospital bed. He took careful steps to the boy and watched him twitching and panting in his sleep. His hands gripping the sheets fiercely and his face contorted into a twisted grimace.

A tiny malicious grin crept onto Hyuuga's lips as he slowly grabbed a scalpel that had been left behind on a nearby operating table. He looked around making sure no one was around and after confirming he was indeed alone he took the knife and aimed it a Teito's neck. He watched expectantly for a reaction but none came.

Had Ayanami been telling the truth? Was this really not the one they were looking for? Hyuuga's resolve wavered for a moment but he decided to press on, after all, he had already come this far. He tightened his grip on the petty weapon he was holding and in a swift motion he lunged at the slave's throat.

It was hard for him to explain what happened the next moment. He could feel a strong force push him against the opposite end of the room but he never saw Teito move an inch. As he shakily picked himself up from the ground he stared at the boy, he was still lying on the bed yet he was no longer panting or quivering. Suddenly Teito's eyes shot open and that was when Hyuuga finally saw it.

Jade green irises had been replaced with blood red and as the boy slowly got up Hyuuga noticed the crimson orb on his right hand at once. There was no doubt in his mind now, as the Eye of Mikhail stood right before him, that Ayanami was planning something colossal.

"_**You impudent fool,**_" Teito spoke in a deep voice. "_**Dare raise a weapon against my Master?**_"

"So you really are _it_," said Hyuuga seemingly not realizing the position he was in. "The Eye of Mikhail."

"_**I should kill you right now for your impertinency,**_" he replied not paying any mind to the man's words. "_**However, that is not my Master's wish.**_"

Teito tried to walk towards Hyuuga but immediately noticed the shackles restraining his moments. He scowled at the annoying contraption. "_**How foolish**_" he said while something Hyuuga could only describe as a white blade of bones erupted from Teito's hand and cut through the iron chains as easily as if they were made of paper. The links fell onto the metal floor one after the other making clanging sounds as Teito took slow deliberate steps fronting Hyuuga.

"_**Point me in the direction of the man with lavender eyes**_"

"That is one poetic description of Aya-tan," said Hyuuga trying to conceal his growing agitation. "Still, I can't do that when I know you are aiming for his life."

"_**Humph,**_" Teito scoffed. "_**You wish to defy me? How foolish...**_" He said directing the blade at his chest. "_**Speak or it will be your life I shall take.**_"

"That sounds reasonable enough but… how much longer do you think he can last like that?" said Hyuuga pointing at the blood soaked bandages wrapped around the newly opened wound on Teito's chest.

"_**You insolent buffoon, you think I'll be stopped by-?**_"

"Not you," interrupted Hyuuga. "Your 'master'"

Teito looked at Hyuuga menacingly. "_**Heal him,**_" he commanded starting to slowly withdraw his weapon before suddenly stabbing the metallic wall behind Hyuuga. "_**And don't try anything stupid.**_" He warned smirking as he lay back on the bed and let his Master's body fall into a dreamless sleep.

Hyuuga hummed quietly as he approached the bed getting some fresh bandages and disinfectant on the way. "Quite a temperament it has," he pondered aloud as he sat next to him and expertly tended to the injured boy. "And a very nasty sense of humor…"

The Eye of Mikhail; what in the world was Ayanami planning to do with it? By the looks of it, he'd be lucky if he could get it to come out, let alone do his bidding.

When he finished wrapping the clean bandages Hyuuga looked at Teito's right hand, the place where the Eye had been mere minutes ago. He held it in his own and curiously poked at the back of the boy's hand half expecting it to appear again. He started increasing the strength in each poke and before he knew it he was pushed off his chair by an invisible force.

He quickly got up to look at the boy's hand but saw nothing. Hyuuga smiled in spite of himself however the moment he noticed the mocking smirk on Teito's- no, on Mikhail's face. It- _He_ really does have a nasty sense of humor, Hyuuga thought as he exited the room.

Sunlight was already filtering through the windows by the time Teito finally woke up. He groggily sat up on the bed and it was immediately evident to him that something was different, his shackles were gone. He looked down at his arms and legs to confirm it and waved his arms around a little to make sure once more that he was in fact no longer chained.

When he was finally satisfied with the results of his tests Teito abruptly jumped off the bed and started jumping and running around the room rejoicing in his newfound freedom however limited it was. The weight of his arms and legs had diminished by half and he could feel the tremendous weight lifted from his body. His movements no longer restrained by iron chains albeit slightly lighter were much faster than before.

His celebration was short-lived nevertheless as a guard stepped into the room and dragged him away. For all the time he had been in this place he had learned a few things and particularly now he would put the number one rule to work. Weak people get exterminated, so he just quietly followed. In his current condition he wouldn't be able to fight or run away and even if he could he already knew how that would end, another trip to the infirmary and there was no guaranteeing he'd survive this time. For the second time since he had arrived here he was brought to Ayanami.

As he walked into the all too familiar room he saw another slave walking out carrying a bucket with red tinted soapy water and a red tainted sponge. He put a hand to his bandaged chest for he knew that was his blood in that bucket and as memories for the previous night came rushing into his mind he started feeling more and more nervous. Once more the door was closed behind him as he stepped forward but this time it was not locked which made Teito relax slightly.

It was not until he noticed Ayanami's eyes fixed on his body that Teito became painfully aware of the fact that he had been stripped of his clothes save for his holed ragged pants, his bony underfed figure completely exposed. As a slave, a _thing_, he had never cared about this kind of thing.

Self-consciousness wasn't something he had ever felt before, but now, now he wasn't a _thing_ he was a person, a weak person, but a person nonetheless; and a very flustered person at that. Ayanami caught on to this of course, not a single twitch or uncomfortable arm rub escaped his sight.

Undoubtedly, Ayanami had to admit that he was a man and as such, it wasn't beyond him to seek the meager pleasures of the flesh and, as Hyuuga had stated before, he had a very peculiar history of it; but the skeletal child standing before him did not entice him in the least. His famished figure and fearful eyes made the boy look more like prey to him than anything else, but that didn't mean he would not toy with him regardless.

"I see your cuffs have been removed. Who did it?" Ayanami asked getting up from his seat.

Teito shook his head "I don't know. They were removed already when I woke up."

"The medic says he found these severed iron links on the ground," he explained holding one said link in his hand. "But it is not possible for a person to do this, is it? These are specially designed to be Zaiphon-proof after all."

Teito did not really understand what he was supposed to do or say. He really had no idea how the chains had come off but as he watched Ayanami close the distance between them he kept wishing he knew.

"You see, it interests me immensely how a tiny boy such as yourself," said Ayanami looming menacingly over Teito as he dropped the disjointed link on the floor "could possibly manage such an incredible feat."

Teito looked left and right, this time he wouldn't let things end the same way. He caught a glimpse of Ayanami's sword near his left hand. If he were still wearing the cuffs it would be out of range, but now he had a chance.

Repeating the same motions he had the night before Teito cast his eyes downward and waited in silence for a few moments.

When he was sure Ayanami was staring fixatedly at him he looked up and caught his eyes, this time a smirk was playing on the young slave's lips as he quickly lunged forward, grabbed the hilt of the sword unsheathing it and dashing behind Ayanami in one fluid and motion.

Granted, he did not have much strength left in his body and the wound on his chest also gave him the disadvantage but he would not let things go that bastard's way anymore. He had had previous training in basic combat with swords but he knew that he was nowhere near as good as his enemy but he also did not expect to win, he was simply trying to make a point.

He would not be exterminated, he was not weak.

"What will you do now? Fight me?" Ayanami asked not even the slightest bit moved by the fact that there was a sword pointed directly at him.

"No," Teito stated immediately surprising him. "I'm not strong enough yet, but I'm not weak enough to be exterminated either! But know this, I will become stronger, and when the time comes I will get my revenge for what you have done!"

"Oh, and what exactly might that be?"

"That's-!" Teito blinked he was not entirely sure what the answer to that question was, he remembered his dream but he was not sure what it meant. What had really happened? What revenge was he supposed to take?

"You don't remember, do you?"

"You… you killed them! All of them! The women and the children too! You burnt everything to the ground!"

"Who are these 'they' you keep talking about then?"

"I- they're…" Teito's arm fell limply to his side. Who exactly was he fighting for?

"That's your answer then? Is that the extent of your resolve? Then youare truly weak, I should kill you right now." said Ayanami knocking the sword away from Teito with one hand and grabbing him by the neck with the other. Shoving him against a wall he neared his face to his and whispered maliciously "'_They' deserved better."_

Teito seemed to fall for his taunt easily as he was reminded of the woman who had tried to save him, who had told him to run, to _live._ Even if he had only seen her, _them_, in his dreams he knew that that was no mere dream, it was a distant memory, this much he was sure of, he needed to be, for he could not afford to doubt himself. Once again a smirk crept onto Teito's face and he managed to let out a forced chuckle.

"That's right," he delivered latching onto Ayanami's extended arm with both hands and forcing him to drop him to the ground before his nails tore his skin. "They do, that is why I must become better," slowly Teito stood up breathing heavily and rubbing his neck. "And when the time comes _I will be the one to kill you__**.**_"

"Is that a threat?"

"That's a _**promise**_."

* * *

**A/N**: Oh boy did I get some awesome ideas for this story as I wrote this chapter. Just you wait and see.

Hopefully you liked this one.

_**To be continued…**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The next few days on board the ship were disturbingly peaceful for Teito. After the incident with Ayanami he had been confined to a small room without any contact with another human being, save for the giddy young man who brought him his meals. Several attempts to strike conversation with Teito had ended in utter failure which strangely did not seem to discourage him.

Maybe he doesn't even speak the same language; the blond boy thought as he sighed in defeat and walked away.

Exactly on the eighth day of his confinement something unexpected happened. 'Food Boy' came in as every other day and placed a tray with various foods on a table near Teito. He had to admit that, in spite of everything, the food was great. Of course, for a person who had lived from stale bread and water for years, the fact that freshly baked bread had become a mere side dish was inexplicably amazing. For this at least he was immensely grateful; and the bed, oh dear Lord that heavenly comfortable bed.

"Morning!" the blond intruder exclaimed with a broad sunny smile "I see you're up early as usual."

Teito did not even spare a glance in the other man's direction and continued his very important staring at the floor.

"And here I thought I'd share some of this delicious cake I snuck from the kitchen with you, but if you're gonna be like that I guess I'll eat it on my own…" This caught Teito's attention, he noticed as he saw him perk up and look at him from the corner of his eyes. Admittedly Teito had no idea what 'keik' was but the words 'eat' and 'delicious' were enough to intrigue him.

"Interested?" the blond asked holding a plate with what Teito could only describe as a slice of very colorful and fluffy bread.

It looked very delicious indeed and Teito's eyes brightened as he unconsciously licked his lips in anticipation which in turn made the other young man laugh heartily making Teito blush in embarrassment. Teito glared at him and the blond man simply smiled sheepishly and muttered a joking apology.

"Sorry, sorry. You looked so happy for a second I couldn't help it." He said handing Teito the plate and a fork "Here, it's a peace offering." He finished while pulling a chair and sitting down, placing both elbows on his knees and resting his head on his hands staring directly at Teito.

"I'm Mikage," he ventured after a moment of silence. "What's your name?"

Teito hesitated; he wasn't really used to talking to other people as an equal. He peeked at the blond man and looked down picking up a piece of cake with the fork. He huffed in a low voice and quickly stuffed his mouth with the sugary treat. As the sweet flavor spread throughout his mouth Teito's eyes lit up and a tiny smile threatened to creep upon his lips. He quickly covered his face with one hand as a muffled "_Delicious!" _broke through his fingers.

Mikage stared at him wide-eyed and burst into a hysterical fit of laughter. Teito's face turned a bright tint of red as he grew more and more irritated with the cackling teen. What was wrong with that guy? Why did he make him so infuriated? It was different from the rage that he had felt with Ayanami; it was somehow refreshing, which did not mean he would not act upon it.

Slowly Teito scooped some of the cake with his fork and deliberately launched it at the annoying blond sitting across from him. Mikage's face immediately became completely serious and without even batting an eyelash he raised his hand in front of his face and stopped the offending sugary treat from reaching his intended mark.

"It's not good to waste food like that, you know?" he said licking the cake from his hand.

Teito was impressed, this boy looked like a weak airhead but he was actually pretty good. His fingers unconsciously twitched at the prospect of fighting him to test his new reach without his shackles; and also the idea of exercising did not sound so bad now that his wounds were finally healed. After all he had been just sitting around for too long. A tiny smirk crept up on his face as he placed the plate down and lunged at his target.

"Whoa!" Mikage cried as he jumped from the chair to dodge an incoming punch from Teito. "You don't have to get so angry I was only joking." He added kicking the seat to the corner to allow himself more room to operate. What was he supposed to do? Was he even allowed to use force on the prisoner? He was supposed to be keeping an eye on his physical wellbeing. He could not hurt the kid, so what was he to do?

Mikage dodged another steady fist aimed for his head and he caught a glimpse of Teito's face. He did not look enraged; there was no ill intent in his eyes. He looked almost amused… entertained. Mikage smiled. So that was it, he just wanted to spar? Bring it on then, he thought as he let his body drop into an offensive stance. Teito's smirk widened as his opponent understood his unspoken request and he too stood still for a moment to acknowledge the challenge.

No words were uttered as both teens exchanged blows and paced around the room almost as if they were following an intricate choreography, both too concentrated on the other's movements to think about anything else. In the midst of the fight neither of them noticed the loud crashing of the tray and the dishes dropping to ground nor would it have mattered if they had.

After a few more minutes the two exhaustedly nodded at each other and called a silent truce. No winner was decided and no conflict was resolved but somehow they felt a little better. Breathing heavily the pair dropped to the floor and they stared at each other in silence.

"Teito." The brunette finally spoke wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Mikage was not sure how to respond. What was a 'Teito' anyway? Some sort of apology in a foreign language? Maybe it was an insult or even a death threat.

"Umm, I'm sorry?" he eventually ventured nervously "I don't really speak… whatever language that is."

Teito looked at him confusedly. What in the world was this boy on about? After a brief moment of pondering he sighed in understanding.

"No," he said pointing a finger at himself. "I'm Teito. That's my name."

Once again Mikage burst into laughter only this time it did not infuriate Teito, rather, it baffled him. Why did he laugh so much all the time? What could possibly be so funny?

"Well it's nice to know you can talk, Teito. You should try smiling some time too." The blond said flashing him a toothy grin. "You're a pretty good fighter, although you could use some training. If I had been serious you wouldn't have-."

All of a sudden the door burst open and a very sour looking Hyuuga walked into the room. He assessed the teens lying on the floor and evaluated the situation at hand. There were shattered fragments of glass under the table and some food and cutlery scattered around it. There were no signs of any metal objects having been mysteriously sliced. He analyzed Teito, his eyes were green. What was going on then? What was that 'ruckus' the guard had reported? Had Mikhail not come out? More importantly had Mikage seen him?

"_Mikage-kun~_," Hyuuga sang in a sugarcoated voice. "Care to explain what's going on here?"

"Hyuuga-san!" Mikage exclaimed standing to attention. "I… that is, we were just…" How was he supposed to explain he had ignored the only order that was given to him? As he looked at Teito and at the bruises forming on his arm and chest he could not help but feel the weight of his failure.

"I attacked him." Teito suddenly interjected standing from his spot on the ground. "This guy simply defended himself." Both men in uniforms stared at him in bewilderment.

"Is that so?" Hyuuga asked eyeing Mikage and then examining the two violet spots on Teito's body. "I guess that settles it then" he added with a happy grin on his face. "Come on then Mikage-kun, Aya-tan will want to talk to you."

Mikage bowed his head, a look of helplessness clouding over his features "Yes, sir." He replied before they both exited the room and the door was locked behind them.

For the next two weeks Teito did not see Mikage again. His food was brought by some random guard who slipped in and out of the room without even glancing his way. For the first time in his life Teito found himself craving human interaction, missing those one-sided conversations the blond used to have with him looking for a reaction.

Where in the world was Mikage? And most of all was he all right?

* * *

**A/N: **Apologies my most respected readers. I have been disregarding this story in favor of working at a library and an attempt at writing and original novel.

Alas, this is no more, I have managed to create a balance and hopefully this means faster updates with no decreased quality. (Which is, after all, what really concerns you.) Your continued support is much appreciated.

**_To be continued…_**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"I will ask one more time," Ayanami said as he slowly paced around the empty room. "What happened?"

Unable to turn his head from his position tied down to the chair Mikage took a shaky breath when the chief disappeared behind him. He had been sitting on that same place for God knew how long not really knowing the reason why. Something to do with Teito, of course, that much was clear, but what?

In the beginning he had thought it was merely a punishment; solitary reclusion with no food or water for a few days to discipline him for his behavior. When Ayanami himself showed up in his cell it was obvious this was not a penalty, it was a prisoner's interrogatory.

The questions were standard at first. Had he talked to Teito? What had he said? Had he seen anything? Done anything? How had he gotten those bruises? Why had Hyuuga said Teito instigated a fight? Had he really? Why? Why had he not called the guards? Mikage had answered truthfully, they were simply sparring. That was when he was tied to the chair, hands behind his back, legs bound to each of the front legs of the seat respectively.

"Why do you cover for him, a slave of all things?" Ayanami asked cutting the silence in the room. "What is it he told you for you to protect him so?"

Mikage said nothing. Apparently his reply had been assumed to be a lie. His current silence was more for himself than for Teito, although he did not approve of this kind of 'questioning' either and this whole thing seemed far too suspicious to him. Why go to these lengths if this was a small matter with some slave? No, there was more to this than Ayanami was letting on, much more.

"This is your last chance, boy," Ayanami said appearing in front of Mikage again. "Tell me what you know."

The young man faced his captor but answered nothing. Ayanami stared at him in contempt and immediately delivered a punch to his left cheek. Mikage flinched at the contact, the blow disorienting him. He was slightly thankful that he was sitting down and incapable of actually losing his balance.

"Well?" Ayanami asked connecting another strike on his right cheek.

Dazed by the assault Mikage hung his head trying to regain his composure; a thin line of blood trickling from his mouth as his head thumped leaving him incapable of concentrating on anything other than the throbbing pain before another fist clashed against his jaw. The next few minutes were excruciating as Ayanami continued his onslaught on his defenseless prey. After countless strikes he finally relented.

Mikage was quivering, his breath unsteady and disquieted. Blood stained his black uniform mostly from his bruised face. What was he supposed to say to make this stop? He had already told the truth and much good that had done for him. He could lie and tell Ayanami what he wanted to hear but, what exactly was that? Mikage snapped out of his reverie with a gasp as the glint of a blade caught his eye.

"All right then," Ayanami said twirling an ornate knife in front of Mikage's face. "We'll do it the hard way," he continued pressing the sharp weapon lightly against his right cheek. "I will ask you a question and every time I don't receive an answer…" he grabbed the blonde's chin with his free hand and forced him to stare into his eyes. "I'll cut a nice deep gash on your skin."

Panic invaded Mikage's blank gaze as it clashed with Ayanami's murderous eyes. After that everything was a blur for him before his body gave out and he lost consciousness. Some sort of hazy conversation was the last thing he heard.

_"Still denying it after all this?"_

_"He says he knows nothing."_

_"I meant you, Aya-tan…"_

_"Get back to work, Hyuuga."_

_"What about him?"_

_"Humph."_

* * *

Teito sat in his cell quietly. Three weeks he had counted. Three weeks since Mikage had been taken by Hyuuga. There was no certain way of knowing if he was even alive at this point. The man who brought him his meals now seemed almost afraid to glance his way let alone tell him what had happened to Mikage, but if his actions were anything to go by then he was most probably dead. Not that he would ask anyway, it was not like he was worried. He had hardly even talked to the blonde.

He poked his food around with the fork. Teito was used to enclosed spaces but in the past he was at least allowed to get out of his cell for battle drills with other slaves. All the sitting around alone was taking its toll on him. Even without his shackles he felt more restrained than before. He at least had expected to be given some sort of task or work to do but he was just kept here like a trophy. No purpose at all other than to assert Ayanami's superiority he guessed. Teito decided to stop counting the days; it made him uneasy to continue keeping track any longer.

He grew to regret that a few days later, he did not know exactly how many, when he heard the door unlocking and watched Mikage slowly walk into the room. He had no idea how long it had been anymore. Teito had wanted to call out to him, to ask where he had been, what had happened, if he was okay, but his voice failed him as he saw the vacant look in Mikage's eyes.

Mikage walked across the room and put the tray down on the table as he had done before so many times. He did not even glimpse Teito's way before turning around and walking out locking the door behind him. What was going on? Where was the perky annoying blonde that smiled too much and laughed about anything? Why had he become a dead man walking?

Teito was a slave. He knew that he was a lesser existence that did not deserve to be treated with respect or kindness. That was just how the world worked. People walked past him and paid him no mind, he had grown accustomed to it, and it was fine.

But Mikage had been different from everyone else. Mikage had talked to him as an equal. He was the first person to ever acknowledge him not as an inferior person but as someone of the same standing. And how had Teito repaid that kindness? Now because of him Mikage was a shell of the giddy man he had met. Hell, that bandage on his cheek was probably Teito's fault too.

The next morning as he heard the door click Teito stood to attention and waited for Mikage to close the door before mustering his courage to speak up.

"H- Hey!" his voice was loud and coarse after so long without being used.

The man in question perked up at the sudden disturbance and spared a cold glance at Teito before continuing his duty without regarding the origin of the voice that had called him. After placing the tray on the table he turned around and started making his way to the exit.

More than a little angry that his attempt at human interaction was being ignored Teito grabbed an apple that had been brought with his food and launched it at Mikage's back. As it happened in the past Mikage swiftly spun on his heel and easily caught the fruit in his hand. Teito's eyes lit up thinking he would scold him again for wasting food but he merely stared at it as if wondering what he was supposed to do with it next.

Annoyed by the lack of reaction Teito looked at the table to see what else he could throw at the blonde to get his attention when an idea suddenly struck him. Talking clearly had not worked. Throwing things at him did not seem to be working either, but those were things he had done before. You should try smiling some time too Mikage had told him. But how exactly did one go about doing that?

Teito tried to remember what Mikage's face used to look like and with it in mind he abruptly turned around with determination. He stared at him for a moment and began trying to mimic the goofy face he had seen on him previously. His eyebrows and lips started twitching trying to find the correct position to choose. Teito clenched his fists; this was a lot more complicated than he had anticipated. Shutting his eyes tightly he firmly clasped his jaw and spread his lips as wide as he could to show his teeth, maintaining that face as long as his muscles would allow it.

A soft thud made him finally open his eyes and he noticed the apple rolling on the ground and Mikage's shocked expression, at least he had one now. In a second, however, it changed to something completely different. He made a gentle huffing sound and suddenly burst into laugh.

Teito sighed somewhat relieved that he seemed to be back to normal, glad that he had not ruined the life of the only person to ever show him kindness. After a moment of watching the snickering blonde irritation started growing inside him for he was, after all, laughing at him. Fortunately Mikage eventually calmed down and at that point Teito realized he had not thought about what he was supposed to say.

"Wh- what happened to your cheek?" he finally settled for.

"Nothing much," Mikage replied as he absentmindedly raised a hand to the bandage and stroked it to test whether it still hurt. "Just this and that…" he added grabbing the edge and peeling it off as if it would help him erase the memory of how he had gotten the wound.

Teito winced when he saw the X shaped scar on his right cheek. A cut that would leave a mark like that would have had to have been very painful. Unconsciously he graced the right side of his chest where his own mark lied, the symbol that was burnt onto every slave's skin.

"It doesn't look like nothing much." He replied guiltily.

Mikage was taken aback. Had Teito been worried about him? Did he somehow feel responsible for what had happened to him?

"It's not your fault. Besides, I'm okay." Mikage quickly reassured him. "Sorry to have worried you."

"I wasn't worried!" Teito quickly defended. "You making that somber face was disgusting. That's all."

Mikage blinked in surprise. He wondered exactly what kind of expression he must have been making for Teito to actually think he needed cheering up. He had realized he had been out of it since he woke up at the infirmary but not to such an extent. Part of him was glad Teito had been here to snap him back to reality.

To Mikage being on this ship was merely a job, his duty. He had never made friends with anyone in it and frankly speaking he barely knew some of the crew members by name and little more. At some point he had simply made peace with the idea that he just did not fit in and he would just have to get used to the dull boring life on board the military vessel. Finding a friend in such a place (if he could even call Teito that) seemed so unlikely.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about," Mikage smiled.

"I'm not!" Teito retorted, a tint of red finding its way to his cheeks.

"Oh, ouch!" the blonde cried clutching his scared cheek and dropping to his knees seemingly in pain.

Teito's eyes widened and he quickly dashed forward kneeling down in front of the other. "Mikage!" he yelped grabbing a hold of his shoulders "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Mikage jerked and a muffled snicker escaped his lips. "See?" he asked meeting Teito's worried gaze with a mocking one of his own. "You **are** worried."

Teito who did not seem to find the 'joke' as amusing responded with a prompt smack on Mikage's head. Mikage simply laughed sheepishly in response making Teito wonder yet again what on Earth could be so inexplicably funny about getting smacked.

"Okay, okay, I get it," said Mikage apologetically as he got back on his feet. "But you should really try being a little bit more honest with yourself. It's nice to show your friends that you care about them sometimes."

Friends, Teito's mind unconsciously repeated the word. He was not entirely sure what the word even meant. In all his life he could not remember having ever heard it before and yet it had a somewhat nostalgic feeling to it.

"Friends?" he asked tentatively "What is that?"

"That's the first time I've been asked such a crazy question," Mikage replied in all honesty. Looking into Teito's expectant eyes he realized he was dead serious about this. He sighed and paused for a moment trying to find the correct explanation.

"Well…" he hesitated. "Friends are… people you like being around and have fun when you're with them. They're people you trust and you care about and…" Mikage scratched the back of his head. This was much harder than he had expected. "People you want to see smiling and you worry when they don't and… Well, you know, kind of like… like you and me," he finished gesturing between the two.

"Friends? You and me?" Teito echoed pensively. "That's…"

Mikage stiffened slightly. Had he crossed some sort of line? They had not really known each other for very long, of course he had. There he was again getting ahead of himself and looking like an idiot blurting out those stupid things. Who would be all chummy like that all of a sudden? He could be such a tool sometimes.

"Has a nice ring to it." Teito suddenly said.

"Huh? Really?" Mikage blabbed dazedly before catching the teensiest hint of an excited smile on Teito's face. The blonde grinned broadly "I guess it does." After a moment of comfortable silence a thought struck him. "We haven't really been properly introduced. I'm Mikage Celestine." He outstretched his hand.

Teito eyed him in confusion for a moment.

Mikage's smile broadened "You're supposed to take it with your right hand and shake." He explained a little endeared by his obliviousness to things that were so commonplace for him.

"I'm Teito," he said taking the blonde's hand in his own and energetically shaking it left and right. "Teito Klein."

Mikage could not help but laugh wholeheartedly irritating the young captive immensely. He meant no offense of course. He did not think him ignorant. It was just so unbelievably _adorable_. Mikage stopped the handshake and smoothly swayed their hands up and down in a more traditional handshake.

"This is the way it's usually done," he said. "But we can do it your way if you want."

Teito released his hand and shook his head. "It's fine," he said looking away slightly embarrassed at his own ignorance.

"I think yours is better," immediately Mikage grasped his hand and exuberantly shook it from side to side. "I was never good at following established rules anyway."

Teito returned the gesture with a tiny meek smile of his own.

"Well, I should get back to work then," said Mikage heading for the door. "Oh, and… thank you, Teito."

Caught by surprise he could do nothing but nod. He had never been thanked before in his entire life.

"Mikage," he called before the door was opened. "You'll be okay, right? You'll definitely come back this time, right?"

The blonde turned around and beamed at Teito giving him a thumbs up. "Of course!" he exclaimed before exiting the room.

He did not understand what that gesture with his hand meant, he would have to ask him later. Teito mimicked the sign with his fingers. Friends, he thought as he picked up the discarded apple and sat down to eat his meal. It really did have a nice ring to it and without him noticing a smile crept up on his face. For some reason the food that day tasted better than usual.

From a dark corner some ways away from the prisoner's cell Hyuuga watched intently the silhouette of the blonde young man walking out. A wicked sneer grew on his lips when he registered the bright look in his eyes as if life had been breathed back into his body. He silently walked away before he was noticed.

I have plans for this one; Ayanami had said when he had asked what to do with him. No wonder he had been named military strategist and chief of staff. He had certainly earned both titles.

What will you do when you find out about this, Mikhail? Hyuuga thought as he walked down the gloomy hallways.

* * *

**A/N:** This one is a bit longer than usual but I wanted to get your opinion on this. What do you think? Are longer chapters more tedious for you or do you prefer them like this?

As always thank you for your support.

**_To be continued…_**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"As long as I am in your _t_- _to_-_ g_- _ts_..."

"Thoughts" Mikage corrected.

"Thoughts," repeated Teito. "My _he_… heart will _all… _always be _wi_… with you."

"Now write it," said Mikage handing him a pen and some paper. "No looking," he finished closing the book that lied open on the table.

"What? Write? Isn't it a bit… I mean we could do this another time there's no rush to-."

"Oh? Well, that's fine by me. I guess I'll just… eat all these **amazing** doughnuts by myself until you feel like writing. No rush." Mikage picked one sweet pastry from the plate and proceeded to bite it with the widest grin he could muster.

Teito gulped as he watched the blonde gobble up one delicious sugary treat after the other. He watched as the doughnuts slowly disappeared one by one. Teito grew impatient and made a break for the plate lying unprotected on the table only to have his hand repelled by a small Zaiphon barrier. He managed to read the words that rotated slowly around it before glaring at Mikage.

"No eating during lessons"it read. Mikage burst into laughter as Teito picked up the pen and started scribbling begrudgingly.

For two weeks now Mikage had been secretly teaching the young captive how to read and write; a little basic math and some other bits and pieces of general knowledge he thought might eventually be useful. Every night he would come to bring Teito his dinner and spend a few hours teaching him various subjects.

It seemed strange to him that ever since he had been brought onto the ship no purpose had been given to Teito. He was just there. Mikage had asked him if he knew anything about it but the jade-eyed boy seemed to be as lost as he was.

Teito had told him about the dream, about Ayanami's provocations and about how he had overheard something about him being a survivor from the Raggs War. Whatever that means_, _Teito had finished; which led to a short history lesson. Thus the idea to have daily lectures sprouted.

At first Teito refused to learn anything which was not related to the Raggs Empire and for a while Mikage indulged him. If he truly was a survivor from the war it was only natural for him to want to know more but the blonde was no expert on the matter and eventually convinced Teito to focus on other subjects.

It's important to listen to all sides of one story. If you can't see the bigger picture you might end up doing something you'll regret, Mikage had said to persuade him.

"There, I'm done," Teito interrupted his thoughts handing the piece of paper to the blonde.

"Great," said Mikage quickly skimming through the messy handwriting. "Impressive, you learn really fast. No spelling mistakes or anything."

"Obviously," Teito grinned proudly. "I'll have one of those doughnuts now."

"Sure, sure, you can have as many as you like," said Mikage smiling devilishly, "as soon as you dispel my barrier. This is also part of your training of course. Only a Zaiphon attack can dispel a Zaiphon barrier, as I've told you before.

Remember what I taught you. Zaiphon manifests in the shape of words and it requires a great deal of concentration. It's not just strength of body that fuels Zaiphon it's also strength of mind. Being able to picture the words in your head will give shape to your Zaiphon and help you control it more easily so that you don't blow something up like last time."

"That was an accident!" Teito defended struggling to keep his Zaiphon under control.

"Okay, okay, don't get distracted now. Just, very slowly make your Zaiphon collide with the barrier and that should dispel it," said Mikage.

"I've got this," replied Teito as he managed to conjure a small sphere with the word 'moron' rotating around it.

"I know you do so just, **very** gently-."

"I said, I've got this," said Teito angrily releasing the sphere making it clash against Mikage's barrier, an explosion of cream and sugar following on cue.

"And **that**," said Mikage wiping some cream from his cheek and licking his fingers, "is why I said gently."

"My… my doughnuts," Teito stared at the empty plate in despair.

"Don't worry, we'll work on the explosion thing tomorrow," he said patting the brunette's shoulder comfortingly. "I better go before lights out. Night"

Teito nodded absentmindedly as Mikage closed the door behind him and locked it. He sighed and dropped himself on the bed. This whole learning business was taking far too long. He needed to become strong fast. He did not have time to be practicing math exercises. How was that in any way getting him closer to his goal of killing Ayanami?

Your brain is like any other muscle in your body, you need to train it. You'll never beat Ayanami with strong punches alone, Mikage had told him.

Admittedly the whole idea of having the young soldier teach him had originally been Teito's. It had stemmed from a certain conversation when Mikage had asked if he knew the reason why he was on board the ship at all. Usually slaves were bought and given some kind of tedious task right away, he had explained.

Teito had to concede the blonde had a point. He too was concerned about his current situation. He had after all wondered about this before himself. After telling Mikage everything he knew about Ayanami they began talking about the Raggs Empire and everything developed from there.

Mikage had tried to dissuade him from attempting to actually kill Ayanami. He had told him it would be disrespectful to forfeit his life by seeking a pointless revenge that would not bring back any of the people who had died so he had a chance to live.

Teito had argued that it was not about bringing people back, it was about making Ayanami answer for his sins.

Who will you answer to for yours when you become the same as him? Mikage had asked. In spite of his displeasure, he had agreed to train him and help him become stronger. For self-defense; I trust you'll make the right choice when the time comes he had said.

It was around that time, during a routine sparring session, that the subject of Zaiphon had come up. Teito had told him that he had a rough idea what it was but that he had always been unable to harness it correctly.

Mikage had seemed strangely surprised at his reply and had requested Teito showed him immediately what exactly he meant by "unable to harness correctly." That was how Teito had accidentally blown up an orange and had been banned from using his Zaiphon again until told otherwise.

Maybe he could practice a bit while Mikage was not around. How much harm could he possibly do anyway? At his best he could merely manage to blow up fruit. Besides, a little practice couldn't hurt.

Teito froze mid conjuring the second he heard the door being unlocked losing his control over the transparent ball and sending it flying across the room.

"I was most definitely not practicing my Zaiphon unsupervised," said Teito turning to look at who he assumed would be Mikage walking through the door. Instead he saw Hyuuga staring amusedly at him.

"Zaiphon, huh?" he echoed turning the key on the lock and walking towards Teito. "By all means continue. I'll _supervise_ you."

Teito panicked. The one thing he was supposed to do was keep this a secret. Mikage could be punished if it was found out he was aiding a slave.

"What's the matter? Maybe I can help you practice," he said conjuring a Zaiphon that read '_Come out to play, Mikhail'_

The young man did not have enough time to read the message before Hyuuga launched it against him and at that moment Teito thought he heard a voice in his head muttering some sort of apology and then there was darkness.

Hyuuga smiled as he saw the deep emerald eyes turning into ruby red. The moment was short lived however as he was roughly pushed against the wall. Still his smile did not waver.

"How temperamental, and here I thought we could have a nice chat."

"_**You dare endanger my Master's life yet again? Is your wish to die such a strong one?"**_

"Oh, no, you misunderstand. I simply wanted to have a word with you. I had no intention of harming your, err, 'master'."

"_**You aimed for his heart."**_

"Because I knew you would protect him, and here you are, see? No harm done."

"_**Fool! Do you honestly believe your puny words will sway me? I will not allow you to jeopardize my Master's life any further,"**_ said Mikhail as he conjured a white blade from his right hand.

"Fair enough; will you at least allow me to have a final word with you?"

"_**Speak swiftly then,"**_ he said as the blade slowly vanished.

"There's a good boy," Hyuuga grinned, "I'm here to warn you about Teito's little 'friend_'_. Keep your guard up around him."

"_**Why should I believe what you say?"**_

"Well, you shouldn't, but you'd be wise to"

"_**Or perhaps extremely foolish."**_

"Or both."

"_**Why would you give this information to me?"**_

"Because your 'master' would never listen to a word I say. Especially if it's about Mikage-kun."

"_**No. Why would you risk your master's wrath in order to bring this information to me?"**_

Hyuuga had to admit hearing Ayanami being referred to as 'his master' was slightly amusing.

"Simply put," he said smiling meekly, "I dislike one-sided frays."

Mikhail scrutinized Hyuuga but nothing could be read in his impassive expression.

"You don't know what a man is capable of when forced between the devil and the deep blue sea," his eyes suddenly betraying a glint of harshness.

Mikhail abruptly sprouted the blade from his right hand once more and lunged at Hyuuga. _**"What are you capable of,"**_ he said holding his weapon up to Hyuuga's neck, restraining him against the iron paneling, _**"when forced between the devil and the cold metal wall?"**_

Hyuuga did not resist his attacker, instead he chuckled softly. "You think dying is a man's biggest fear?" he asked almost humorously. "When his own death is a man's sole concern that is when he is least afraid."

"_**What **_**is**_** your concern then?"**_

"Death," he replied.

"_**You believe yourself to be fearless?"**_

"Would either of us be standing here if I didn't?" he contested; his gaze steadily clashing with Mikhail's own.

"_**Ha!"**_ Mikhail exclaimed slowly withdrawing his blade but not stepping away. _**"You amuse me, human. At least the words you speak do. I shall have to test how true they are."**_

"Should I take that as a challenge?" Hyuuga asked noticing how unthreatening Mikhail looked without the bizarre bone-sword protruding from his arm. Although, at this short distance, his red eyes reminded him of exactly how dangerous the young boy standing before him was. He was not sure if he could call him young boy at this point though.

"_**You propose you are capable of matching a god? You certainly have some confidence for a mere human."**_

"I believe that the fact that I'm not dead yet speaks for itself," Hyuuga smirked and arched his body forward using the difference in their heights to his advantage to loom over Mikhail's shorter form.

"_**Do not get presumptuous simply because I am whimsically allowing you to live. I can take your life just as easily as I have spared it thus far."**_ Mikhail answered leveling his glare to the taller man's.

"Well, well… aren't you pretty cute at this angle?" Hyuuga spurted taking Mikhail completely aback. "Oh boy, are those doughnuts I see?" he asked pushing past a speechless Mikhail and walking to the small round table.

"Aw, who smashed them up like this? What a waste," he said scooping up some cream and licking it off his finger while walking to the door.

"Remember what I told you," suddenly he turned around and stared seriously at Mikhail, "do not let your guard down," and with that he left.

Mikhail stood in silence for a moment wondering what in the Chief of Heaven's name had just happened. Had he just been outmaneuvered, BY A HUMAN? Granted, his Master was indeed very handsome, for a human, but if that mortal thought HE looked "cute" just he wait and see what Mikhail truly looked like. Wait, what? That was not even the point. He had gotten away. If he broke down the door and chased after him now it would only cause trouble for his Master, like the time he had cut through the chains.

And what about that warning, he was not going to heed that. That "Mikage" person was an important existence to his Master. He seemed trustworthy enough, as opposed to that overly-confident human. He was the one who could not be trusted.

As he laid his Master's body to rest on the bed Mikhail briefly pondered on different brutal ways to dismember the annoying human. When the time came, he wanted to be prepared. A smirk played on his lips as he closed his eyes and allowed his Master's body to drift into sleep.

* * *

Mikage paced nervously back and forth, a tray in his hands and a fidgety look in his eyes. Tonight, like every other night he was brining Teito's food in, nothing else. He needed to calm down. Everything was fine, just as always, he would walk in, smile, hand him his food and talk about some meaningless subject until he was done.

He stared silently at the locked door. This was for the best. Teito would have more freedom this way, he would be able to walk around the ship and talk to him whenever he felt like it. Yeah, this was all for the best. He was doing nothing wrong. Mikage steadied himself he could not do this, but… could he really afford not to?

Ayanami had given his word no harm would come to him. Then again, Mikage did not entirely believe in his word. Teito was his friend, he trusted him, although, what did he actually know about Teito? For the Chief of Staff of the Barsburg Empire to be this interested in him to this extent and take this kind of precautions, there had to be something he was hiding.

Mikage took a deep breath. There was no other choice, he had to do it, otherwise his family would… No, this was not the time to be thinking about this. Without wasting another second he unlocked the door and walked into Teito's room. He did not lock it, however, as he slowly made his way through the small quarters. Thankfully the brunette had not noticed as he was too enthralled with the book he had left him the night before.

"Mikage," Teito finally noticed his presence as he was placing the tray on the table, "I didn't realize it was this late already."

"Ah, yeah, it's time for dinner," the blonde replied forcing a smile to appear on his face as he sat down on a chair.

"Good, I was getting a little hungry anyway," said Teito sitting across from him and reaching for the utensils. Mikage watched intently as he cut a piece of meat and lazily brought his hand towards his face.

"Teito!" shouted Mikage surprising the brunette who dropped his fork in his shock.

"What!?" he exhaled, "don't scare me like that when I'm trying to eat," once again he grabbed the fork and started raising it towards his mouth.

"How do you like that book I gave you?" he asked somewhat over-eagerly.

"Is everything all right?" Teito looked at him quizzically. "You seem a bit… on edge," he explained.

"Huh? No, everything's fine. I'm just… kind of… tired… that's all," he answered forcing himself to smile.

"If you say so…"

A look of despair clouded Mikage's eyes as Teito gently placed the fork in his mouth and chewed on his food. He wanted to scream for him to stop, not to swallow that, but his voice failed him. It was already too late. The blonde flinched visibly as the other gulped down the food, thankfully he did not see.

The minutes of silence that followed as Teito finished his meal were excruciatingly painful for Mikage. Once it was over he stared at him with the most agonizing expression the brunette had ever seen on any person before.

"Mikage?" he ventured concerned. "Are you sure you're all-?"

The blonde hastily turned away in shame as Teito put a hand to his chest and gasped for air.

"Mi- ka- ge…" what was going on? His whole body felt like it was burning. His heart was pounding a thousand times a second. It was painful to breathe. His whole body was starting to feel numb.

As a slave, Teito had been taught never to ask for anything, especially not for help, no matter how dire the situation, but right now he was not just a slave. In front of him stood the only person who had ever treated him as an equal.

Teito mustered whatever strength was still left in his body to stretch out his arm hand touch Mikage's shoulder.

"Help m-." he managed to wheeze between pants.

Mikage gasped but he did not turn around as he covered his ears with his hands and shut his eyes tightly to stop himself from acknowledging what he had done. Even after all this, Teito had not suspected him at all. It had not crossed his mind he could be responsible for such a thing and he was even pleading for him to save him. To make it all better.

Teito's body eventually gave out and he fell limply to the ground. Mikage shivered as his friend's trembling hand slid down his back and he recoiled at the sound of him hitting the iron floor.

Inside Teito's body Mikhail furiously tried to take possession of his Master and kick the living daylight out of the blonde human but it was no use. His body was completely paralyzed, his muscles would not respond, it was as if his whole system had completely shut down except for his vital organs.

Mikhail cursed. He had let his guard down. Why had he not heeded the conceited human's warning? If only he had believed his words none of this would be happening.

Mikage numbly walked to the door and knocked twice on it. Immediately two soldiers burst in and picked Teito from the floor. They nodded at the blonde as they carried him away. As soon as they were gone Mikage collapsed to the ground, his face buried into his palms as he shivered lightly.

Was this really for the best? Had he really done nothing wrong? He certainly did not feel like it.

* * *

**A/N:** Well, this was one roller-coaster of a chapter. I hope you had as much fun reading it as I had writing it. Thank you for your continued support.

On a semi-related note: It's your move now, **silence of winter**. Good luck.

_**To be continued…**_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Definitely _not_ the one we're looking for then?" asked Hyuuga as he handed Ayanami a small black wooden chest.

"You are being too persistent on this subject Hyuuga," replied Ayanami as he slowly opened the container.

"I'm just curious as to why you would go through all this trouble for a simple slave," Hyuuga explained calmly leaning against a nearby wall.

"I am free to do as I please with my property, am I not?" said Ayanami pulling a purple collar from the chest.

"Of course," replied Hyuuga and proceeded to silently watch as his commanding officer placed the contraption around the unconscious slave's neck.

If it had been up to Hyuuga he would not have allowed for such a thing to happen. Teito was already at a disadvantage. There was no way he could fight or even escape Ayanami at this point. In his opinion a Promise Collar was an exaggeration. Obviously this was not a precaution against Teito himself; it was against Mikhail.

Did Ayanami truly believe that such a thing would give him control over the archangel? Even if it could restrain Teito, was that enough to bind Mikhail? The poison in his food had clearly worked but the amount they had to use in order for Ayanami to feel confident it would work had been enough to paralyze a throng of elephants. It was dubious if it would kill him and now it was impossible to tell when he would regain consciousness.

Frankly speaking Hyuuga was surprised he had not noticed there was something strange about the food that night; but then, that was why Ayanami had insisted on using Mikage to ensure he would consume every last bite. After all the trouble he had gone through to warn Mikhail about the young soldier he was appalled to find he had fallen so easily. Perhaps he would have been more careful if Hyuuga had not warned him in the first place.

Hyuuga snapped out of his musings as he heard the soft clicking of the collar closing around the boy's neck. He watched as Ayanami deliberately pulled off one of his gloves and neared his hand to the back of the slave's neck.

He was more than a little surprised as a large yellow eye appeared in the center of it and a tiny mouth opened as Ayanami's hand approached it. He had heard about this type of collar, of course, but he had never actually seen one before. Hyuuga gulped and crossed his arms over his chest to mask his discomfort when the _thing_ bit Ayanami's finger and licked some of his blood.

Ayanami smirked as the collar made a soft screeching sound and slowly closed its eye. With this the blood contract was completed. Everything was proceeding even more smoothly than he had anticipated.

He took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the thin crimson line trickling down his finger. After discarding the piece of cloth over Teito's unmoving form he put his glove back on and turned to Hyuuga.

"From now on nobody enters this room without my permission."

"I'll set a guard schedule for the-."

"No. You will stand watch over this room at all times," ordered Ayanami. "If he regains consciousness you immediately report it directly to me. Understood?"

"What? I'm to stay here indefinitely?"

"Yes."

"Well what am I supposed to do while I'm here?"

"I'll have one of the guards send over all your overdue paperwork."

"Ehhh!? That's not fair Aya-tan~!" Hyuuga pleaded desperately.

"You are not to step out of this room. That is an order," said Ayanami before walking out.

Hyuuga figured this was his punishment for being nosy, if the tiny grin in Ayanami's face was an indication of anything.

"So… I guess I'm stuck here with you," he said looking at the slave lying unconscious. "Great…" he sighed. He should have stayed out of this after all.

Some time later, after the piles of due paperwork were delivered, Hyuuga sat on a chair staring at the ceiling. Not all the free time in the world could make him consider doing any of that. He tapped his foot on the ground and whistled a random tune. How long would it even take for the effect of the drug to wear off? It could be days! He slowly stood up and walked over to the boy's side.

"Come on then," he said grabbing a hold of the boy's right hand and poking the back of it with his finger. "Wake~y, wake~y, sleeping beauty," he cooed softly. "I know _you_ can hear me so open your eyes already."

He took a step back and placed a hand on the hilt of his sword. "You know… I'm something of an impatient man," he said unsheathing the blade. "And I know you don't like it when I attack your ´master' either; but if it's going to be like this every time…" Readying his sword Hyuuga called out one more time. "See? You leave me no choice…"

The instant he prepared to strike the boy, Hyuuga felt a faint wind against his cheeks. Surprised he looked around the room. There were no windows that could be opened on the ship. They were just glass to let light through. Immediately he looked down at the unconscious boy.

"You really can't get up, can you?" he asked placing the blade back in its sheath. "And even still you're desperately trying to protect his life." He noticed the boy's right hand twitching slightly.

"Fine," he grumbled in exasperation and sighed deeply. "I'll watch over him for you. There, happy?"

Hyuuga walked over to the piles of papers and rummaged through them absentmindedly. He groaned and picked one of the files from the lot. Pulling the chair close the bed where the young slave lied, he begrudgingly sat down and began skimming through the papers.

"Oh," he exclaimed while scribbling on the file. "This is a report from when we raided that terrorist hideout. Very violent, lots of deaths… I think you'll like it. We had them completely surrounded and then when we got the order to attack we-."

Hyuuga suddenly became silent when he felt the faint wind on his cheeks once again. Was he perhaps being a nuisance? He glanced at the sleeping figure from the corner of his eyes and caught a glimpse of the tiniest smirk on his mouth.

Whether he was supposed to take it as encouragement to continue talking or as a warning that Mikhail was planning to dismember him as soon as he opened his eyes, Hyuuga did not know. Either way he carried on with his bloody tale and as soon as that file was over with he moved on to the others and repeated the same process.

Afterwards the span of those few days would come to be known as 'The Legendary Week when Major Hyuuga finally did something productive around the ship for a change.' The reason behind it however remained a mystery that none of the crew members were ever able to decipher.

During that time it was said that Chief Ayanami himself was carefully overlooking his work and rumors quickly spread about his daily checkups on Hyuuga. What ever happened inside that room nobody knew but Ayanami would emerge from it mere minutes later with a sinister expression on his face.

It was on the dusk of the fourth day that Teito finally came to. He had been pretending to be unconscious while listening to Hyuuga talk about some mission to escort a certain dignitary somewhere and silently waited for him to finish. Teito had absolutely no idea what was happening. He vaguely remembered Mikage brining him his meal and then… nothing. He watched as Hyuuga stood up and turned away from him and began sorting some papers.

Teito took this chance to scan his surroundings. The room he was in he did not know. He had not been here before but he could see the sky through the windows. He was still onboard Ayanami's ship.

"You know," Hyuuga's voice echoed through the silent room.

Teito immediately lied back down and closed his eyes before the older man turned back to him.

"If he doesn't wake up soon he might starve to death," he added as he slowly walked to Teito's side. "I can't protect him from that."

Who in the world was he talking to? Where they not alone in this room? Had they already noticed he was awake? Teito panicked as a hand held on to his own and roughly stroked the back of it with its thumb.

In his anxiety Teito suddenly reached out with both his hands and clasped Hyuuga's neck. His lack of strength was apparent but combined with Hyuuga's sheer confusion he managed to unbalance him and quickly put all of his weight into tackling him to the ground. For a split second Teito thought Hyuuga looked slightly contented with the turn of events as they both went toppling onto the cold floor. The moment was short lived nonetheless and just as suddenly his contented smirk changed into a look of disillusion.

"Oh… it's just _you_," he commented outright ignoring Teito's grip on his neck.

Well… Of course it was him! Who else was he expecting? And what was with the disappointed tone?

"I guess I shouldn't be too surprised though," Hyuuga stared into Teito's emerald eyes and smiled slyly. "Then again," he began placing both his hands around the younger man's wrists, "if this is how it's going to be…" with one quick pull Hyuuga removed both of Teito's hands from his neck and proceeded to roll him over onto his back.

Restraining both of the younger man's arms above his head Hyuuga gazed deeply into Teito's eyes and spoke "_You_ saw what happened. You know exactly what _his _situation is. So, I can either report this to Aya-tan right now or_ you_ can face me."

What was he talking about? His situation, who was he talking about?

Teito shook his head furiously. "I don't know what you mean," he replied desperately trying to break free. "Who-?"

Hyuuga held both of Teito's arms in one of his hands and placed the other around his neck. "It doesn't have to be this way every time," he said slowly tightening his grip.

Teito struggled under the soldier's grasp. "I… don't-." he frantically gasped for air.

Hyuuga smirked as a tint of ruby flashed through the boy's eyes but just as quickly it faded back into emerald. Frustrated he placed his other hand on the slave's neck. "I'm not playing. I really will kill him."

Teito grabbed the older man's wrists in an attempt to remove his hands but to no avail. For a split second his irises flashed bright red and in a hazy voice the word "_**Can't-.**_" escaped his lips.

Almost instantly Hyuuga released Teito and watched him curiously. How was it possible? If the effect of the drug had worn off enough for the boy to be awake, why was Mikhail unable to manifest? Was it a lie so that he would stop endangering the young slave's life or was there something else? Sighing Hyuuga decided to temporarily let it go and stood up.

After taking a deep breath he looked down at the boy and smiled brightly at him. Extending his hand down to help him up he spoke in a cheery voice. "Up you go then."

Still a little out of breath Teito hesitantly took the other man's hand and shakily got on his feet. Not entirely comprehending what had just happened he stared at Hyuuga in a daze. Who was he talking to back then? At the time even if the soldier had been looking into his eyes to him it felt as if he were looking through him rather than at him.

"Why?" Teito asked rubbing his own neck gently.

"You must be starving," replied Hyuuga disregarding his question completely.

"Why did you stop?" he repeated.

"You can have my dinner, I still haven't touched it," he continued ignoring the boy's concerns.

The overly-friendly smile on Hyuuga's lips made Teito slightly uncomfortable. He would obviously be getting no answers from him at this rate. He looked sideways to the table where the food Hyuuga mentioned was placed. He briefly thought about the last memory he had before losing consciousness and looked suspiciously at the meal.

"Don't worry. This one is clean," said Hyuuga as if reading his mind.

Teito's gaze traveled to the beaming man and he eyed him doubtfully for a moment.

"I suppose it's natural that you don't trust me," Hyuuga began as he paced over to the table. "That's what betrayal does to most people…" he finished grabbing a piece of bread and biting down on it.

Following the loud grumbling of his empty stomach Teito begrudgingly walked to where Hyuuga was standing and nodded before sitting down.

"There's a good boy," said Hyuuga grinning widely as he sat on a chair some distance away from Teito.

Before he started eating Teito had not realized exactly how hungry he actually was. How long had he been asleep anyway? He wondered to himself as he quickly gobbled down the food in front of him.

Hyuuga watched the young boy carefully. It had already been a while since he had been brought on to the ship yet somehow it seemed like Ayanami was trying to keep him hidden away from everyone. In truth very few people on board had actually seen Teito, which was a good thing considering that in the time he had been here his appearance had changed quite a lot. He remembered the skeletal child whose wound he had treated but the young man sitting in front of him right now seemed like another person.

Even though the injury had long since healed the bandages had not yet been removed. Hyuuga wondered if this was because Teito had no other clothes to wear and had simply left the bandages to cover his chest. They way they were wrapped around him did not seem like it had been done by someone who knew what he was doing. It baffled Hyuuga how no one had bothered to bring him new clothes yet. Had he at least been allowed a shower since he had gotten here?

"I'm sorry," said Teito suddenly surprising the other man.

"What for?"

"For the food," he explained. "It was meant for you and I ate all of it."

"In that case you mean 'thank you.'"

"Oh, I'm sorry," he pondered for a second. "I mean, thank you."

"Don't worry," replied Hyuuga smiling brightly. "I'd be in trouble if something happened to you."

The soldier's constant grinning made Teito inexplicably uneasy. There was something about that smile that felt wrong.

"Shall we get going then?" asked Hyuuga standing up. "I believe Aya-tan will be most pleased to see you are awake."

* * *

"Are you displeased?" asked Ayanami flicking through some papers. "Your family is out of danger and the slave is unharmed as promised."

Mikage clenched his fists. They would have not been in danger if it hadn't been for you, he had wanted to shout. What kind of monster was the Chief of Staff? Had he no regard whatsoever for human lives?

"May I ask one question, sir?" enquired Mikage.

"You may not," replied Ayanami immediately. "Dismissed"

Mikage clamped his jaw tightly and saluted his commanding officer before turning to walk away and without any reply he left the room.

As he walked down the quiet corridors Mikage heard the sound of footsteps approaching his way. When he turned the corner he saw Hyuuga walking towards him and lagging behind he recognized the figure of Teito.

Relief washed over him as he saw the young brunette up and about. Inadvertently a tiny smile crept up on his face and all of a sudden the feeling of guilt started building up from him stomach when he noticed the purple collar around Teito's neck.

Mikage cast his eyes downward and walked forward hoping he would go unnoticed in the gloomy hallway. However there was no such luck as Teito picked up his pace to reach his side.

"Mikage!" he called excitedly as he shortened the distance between them.

Hyuuga stared at the young slave in surprise. Was this the way you would normally greet a person who pretended to be your friend and then poisoned you? Could he truly believe Mikage had nothing to do with the incident?

Keeping his eyes fixed on the ground Mikage simply walked past Teito and silently continued his march.

"Oi, Mikage!" the brunette called once again placing a hand on his friend's shoulder.

Instinctively Mikage turned his head and caught a glimpse of Teito's concerned expression. It was unbearable. He felt like he was being crushed by the weight of those uncorrupted jade eyes. Unable to cope with the pressure any longer Mikage ran away without a word and without looking back.

Startled Teito attempted to chase after him only to be stopped by Hyuuga pulling him by the arm.

"Let me go!" protested Teito. "Can't you see he-!?" Bewildered by the bitterness in the taller man's gaze Teito lost his words and found himself unable to finish his sentence.

"Such ruthless innocence," commented Hyuuga as he dragged the speechless brunette down the corridor.

Teito had thought Hyuuga's smile was terrifying, but this… he had no words to describe the chill that had run down his back the moment their eyes met. It astonished him how easily he slipped back into a bright smile as he knocked on a certain door.

"Aya-tan~!" Hyuuga sang gleefully. Without waiting for a reply he pushed the door open and walked in dragging Teito behind him.

Ayanami looked up from the papers on his desk and stared directly at Teito. A malicious smirk played on his lips as he eyed the young slave standing before him. His lavender irises pierced through Teito and froze him to the core.

"You can go, Hyuuga," ordered Ayanami from his place behind the desk.

"Aya-tan," ventured Hyuuga grinning widely. "May I suggest playing nice this time?"

"What I do with my property is no concern of yours, Hyuuga." stated Ayanami suspiciously scrutinizing his subordinate.

Hyuuga faltered for an instant under his superiors gaze but immediately recovered and beamed at him. "My apologies," he replied bowing his head. "I shall take my leave then."

"Hyuuga," said Ayanami before the other man had a chance to leave the room. "Tread lightly."

Hyuuga smiled pleasantly at him and after a quick salute exited the room closing the door behind him.

As he paced down the hallway he mentally scolded himself for letting such a stupid sentence leave his mouth. Of course it was no business of him what Ayanami did with his slave. He obviously had no intention of killing the boy anyway so there was no need to worry about Mikhail showing himself; not that he could if he wanted to, now that he thought about it.

Finding his way to his own quarters Hyuuga lazily lied on his bed and prepared for four days worth of rest. He was done meddling into this whole Eye of Mikhail affair. God knew he did not want to irritate Ayanami any further than he already had. Besides, he could find countless other amusing things to entertain himself with.

Now then, step one was simple enough. Stop thinking and go to sleep, he repeated over and over in his mind, everything will be all right in the morning.

* * *

**A/N: **Oh boy, I'm enjoying writing Hyuuga's character so much I'm starting to fear for his safety.

I hope you liked this chapter and as always thank you for your support. I definitely promise more Aya-tan screen time on the next one!

**_To be continued…_**


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